Lisa's update
We are delighted to share with you that on Wednesday 28th of April, we will be resuming our face-to-face complementary therapy sessions within our Inpatient Unit again and on Tuesday 4th of May our hairdressing service will also resume.
Patients in the community and families can still benefit from receiving sessions virtually. Should you wish to be referred or refer someone to our service, please ask a member of the St Columba’s Hospice Care team or contact us at complementarytherapy@stcolumbashospice.org.uk
Due to continuing restrictions, unfortunately our Therapet team and volunteer complementary therapists are still unable to visit the Hospice and we hope to be welcoming them all back again soon.
We will keep you up to date here when this part of our service is available again.
Thank you all for your continued support with our service.
Best wishes
Lisa
Our virtual sessions have received positive feedback from those who have used the service. We tailor your session around your preferences, to include what you feel like on the day of your appointment.
Your session can include a guided meditation, some muscle relaxation techniques or a more practical session including hand reflexology techniques and gentle acupressure that you can do by yourself.
You can also include a family member in your session and they can learn some of these techniques too and then be able to this for you!
Following an adaptation of current therapies we offer, and the introduction of others, here are the virtual therapies that are currently available
PCGI (Person Centred Guided Imagery)
PMR (Progressive Muscle Relaxation)
HEARTS Approach (involving patients carer)
Reiki meditations
Guided meditations
Aromatherapy Aromasticks
Hand Reflexology techniques
EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) – available March 2021
If you have a virtual consultation booked, you will be asked to join a secure video call using an NHS system called Attend Anywhere/ Near Me. You will be contacted beforehand by Lisa or a member of our complementary therapies team with details of your consultation start time and other information about your session.
Ahead of your consultation, please click on the link below. This will take you directly to the system. If you click on "Start video call" you will enter a virtual waiting room and your therapist will join you when your session is ready to commence. Please don't worry, its very straight-forward and secure... and a great way to enjoy therapies from home.
Access your virtual session hereFeedback on virtual sessions
“The level of pain I had at the start of this session is no longer here... how remarkable.”
“I now see a future that I can look forward to because my head is in a much better place than it once was”
Other news
Marie Duggan is a practitioner and training provider offering Complementary Therapies in Cancer Care CPD eLearning for Massage, Reflexology and Reiki. She recognised that some therapists taking part in eLearning would welcome the opportunity to gain clinical practice within cancer care and palliative care settings. St Columba's was delighted to partner with Marie to offer a placement to Alison Hughes. You can read about Alison's clinical practice placement here: https://www.cnhc.org.uk/accessible-clinical-practice
We are thrilled that Alison's placement with us led to her joining the team as our Volunteer Complementary Therapist.
To read more about Marie's work, go to Butterfly Touch Therapies - https://butterflytouchtherapiestraining.com/
What We Do
Supportive care services are about making it easier to manage symptoms and improve general wellbeing. They’re all available to inpatients, outpatients and those in the community.
